Electric vehicles (EVs) have recently been gaining increased worldwide interest since they result in far less climate pollution than their gas-powered counterparts. The induction motor (IM) used in EVs suffers from high loss, low efficiency, low power factor, and low inverter usage factor even though it is industry-friendly and has low production cost. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs) present another alternative because of their high efficiency and torque density but they use permanent magnets, leading to high cost, aging and poor stability.
Switched reluctance motors (SRM) have extensive scope in electric vehicle drives as it has no rotor windings and Permanent magnets. SRMs have a robust structure, better torque-speed characteristics low cost, high reliability, wide-speed range, and good fault-tolerance ability, enabling them to function in high-speed, high-temperature, and safety-critical applications. However, their applicability for electric propulsion has been undermined due to lower torque density, higher torque pulsation or Ripples, and acoustic noise. So, in order to improve the performance of SRM and to extend its applications in the Electric Vehicle industry, it is essential to reduce these torque ripples by suitable control techniques.
Conventional EVs use two power electronic converters, one for charging and one for traction which increases the vehicle’s cost, weight, and size. Many integrated chargers have been reported recently which use a single set of power converters that can perform the functions of both traction and battery charging. Adoption of Integrated chargers is advantageous since it combines two functionalities in a single system, with the prospect of reducing the volume, weight, and cost of the power electronics comprising the EV. But the control design of EV Integrated battery charger is crucial and complex due to many control objectives such as power factor correction (PFC), constant current/constant voltage (CC/CV) charging, and torque ripple minimization. Moreover, the high-level operational requirements such as the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V) modes to provide ancillary services further complicate the control design process.
The objective of this research is to develop the most suitable control strategy for the reduction of torque pulsations in SRM and to implement the SRM-based electric vehicle drive with an integrated charger having vehicle-to-grid and grid-to-vehicle capabilities. The research also focuses on analysing the capabilities of the proposed EV with SRM traction drive to provide ancillary services in a comprehensive microgrid.
The methodology or approach includes mathematical modeling of the SRM motor and development of control strategy, simulation and performance analysis of the proposed system in MATLAB Simulink, and hardware implementation and testing of the prototype model. The project would result in product development as well as technology development. The research would result in a prototype of an On-board Integrated SRM traction drive for EV applications with G2V and V2G capabilities that could be patented. The prototype developed could be used as a laboratory experimental setup for UG/PG and Ph.D. students for further research.
Funding details: Amrita seed fund-Rs 1540000/-
